


Liquid Relaxation

by Rainieva



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Drunk Texting, Drunken Confessions, Drunken Flirting, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Let Sakamoto Ryuji Say Fuck, Love Confessions, M/M, Mild Language, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-04
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:40:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23483983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rainieva/pseuds/Rainieva
Summary: Ohya leans her arm on the bar, propping her head up on it lazily. "Then, tell me about you.""What?" He asks, perplexed by her sudden interest."You know all about my work troubles, the least I could do is listen to you vent a bit." She smiles. Something tells him that this is more than sheer curiosity. She was a reporter after all.~~~Or, Akira is stressed and Ohya helps him relax a little too much.
Relationships: Amamiya Ren & Sakamoto Ryuji, Kurusu Akira/Sakamoto Ryuji, Persona 5 Protagonist/Sakamoto Ryuji
Comments: 6
Kudos: 256





	Liquid Relaxation

**Author's Note:**

> I was looking for some drunk akiryu love confessions, so I made it myself lol. Please enjoy this self indulgent piece.

Akira found himself wandering the shops of Shinjuku for some better plant nutrients, on a late Saturday night. His plant was doing well but he heard a few rumors from a frequent customer at the Shibuya flower shop. Apparently, the nutrients that could be found here could keep even the pickiest of plants alive. Not that he was bad at gardening by any means - he considered himself quite good, actually - it was simply to test the customer's claim. Sure enough, there was a flower shop right in the middle of the Red-Light District. The store clerk was nice enough, finding what he was talking about quickly and ringing it up.

A soft chime comes from his phone, alerting him of a message. He pays and thanks the woman behind the counter. Once outside, he reaches into his pocket and fishes out his cellphone. The picture of a familiar reporter appears. He chuckles, opening the message.

> Hey, I'm at Crossroads if you have any juicy info on the Phantom Thieves. ;)

Well, he was already here. Why not?

> I'll be there soon.

It only took a few minutes for him to weave through the late night crowd and dodge the barkers trying to pull him into other colorful establishments. Inside Crossroads, Ohya sat at her usual place at the bar. He steps inside and Ohya turns a bit, noticing him. She smiles widely, setting down her glass with a soft clink.

"Lala-chan! Look who's decided to celebrate with me tonight!" She cheers, obviously already started on the celebration herself.

"He is welcome to celebrate with a soda." Lala corrects, eyeing Ohya warningly. She huffs in return.

"Oh, well. Have a seat! What do you have for me this time?" She starts, taking a sip of the dark liquid in her glass.

Akira takes a few quick steps to the seat next to her and sits down, setting his school bag - along with Morgana - on the seat to his left. "I hear the Phantom Thieves plan to take down Medjed." He answers, carefully.

"Sure, they'd be stupid not to! C'mon, don't hold out on me! Your little tip from last time is what got me that raise we're celebrating" She pushes, nudging him a bit with her shoulder.

"They seem like they are keeping a low profile right now, so that's all I've got right now."

"Lame." She sighs dramatically as Lala places a glass of iced soda in front of him. He takes a sip; Dr. Salt by the taste of it.

Ohya leans her arm on the bar, propping her head up on it lazily. "Then, tell me about you."

"What?" He asks, perplexed by her sudden interest.

"You know all about my work troubles, the least I could do is listen to you vent a bit." She smiles. Something tells him that this is more than sheer curiosity. She was a reporter after all.

"I can't say it's the most interesting story…" He trails off, glancing back at the reporter. She waited patiently to continue like she had all the time in the world. 

He sighs before telling her about his circumstances, coming to the city. Trial, probation, LeBlanc and even the way the school treated him. As the story went on, Ohya appeared to tense and get even a bit angry.

"What bullshit! I'm telling you, something weird is going on up top." She frowns. "How is a high schooler like you dealing with that kind of stress?"

He gives a tired sigh. So, he was supposed to be stressed, huh? Honestly, she only knew half of it. Sure, he was on probation and everyone thought he was a criminal but he was also the leader of the Phantom Thieves, being threatened to reveal themselves by an anonymous hacker group. I guess stressed is the right word.

Ohya, seeing the tension in his body and lines in his face deepen, pushes her glass toward the teen. Noticing the glass, he looks up at her with a questioning gaze.

"Don't look at me like that. You look like you need some liquid relaxation." She smirks, eyeing Lala as she takes his glass of soda. She takes a few generous gulps, making both of the glasses match.

Akira watches the glass tentatively. It was the same brown color of the soda and was about half full, also iced. It would be hard to tell the difference without actually tasting them. He looks back at Ohya, maybe for confirmation but she just continues to sip the soda as if nothing had changed. He turns back the glass, staring at it challengingly. It was just a little alcohol, right?

He wraps a hand around it, the condensation wetting his hand, as he raises it to his lips. The liquid is smooth and hot as he swallowed it, his throat stinging on the way down. It tasted sour and bitter with a strangely sweet aftertaste. It wasn't something he was used to but compared it being almost as refreshing as a cup of Sojiro's coffee. He had expected some kind of immediate effect on him, but he felt relatively fine.

"How's it taste?" He must have been making a face of some sort because Ohya can hardly control her amused smile.

"Good, I think." He answers, bringing the glass to his lips again. The bitterness, harsher the second time around. He continues to down the drink until there are only a few drinks left. As he places it back down on the bartop, he scrunches up his nose a bit, the alcohol finally hitting his stomach.

Lala walks over, probably noticing the distaste on his face. "Don't like Dr. Salt, baby? Most of the clients here don't care much, but it does the job."

"No, it's fine, just… a little bitter." Akira shakes his head. Suddenly, the movement made him a bit dizzy, so he placed a hand on the bar to steady himself. His back, chest, and face felt like they were heating up from a sauna, causing him to sweat just a bit under his clothes.

Akira can hear Ohya muffle a snicker as Lala narrows her eyes. She takes Ohya's glass from her, earning a small cry of protest, taking a drink. Tasting the alcohol-free drink, she frowns, mainly directed at the reporter.

"How many times have I told you? He's a minor! What were you thinking?" She scolds, taking Akira's glass from in front of him as well.

"Come on, Lala-chan. He needed a pick me up. Besides, that. Drink isn't even that strong." She argues but Lala seems to be having none of it. She walks around the bar to them and helps Akira out of his barstool.

"Well, if that's how this is going to go, you can have Dr. Salts for the rest of the night."

"But Lala-chaan~" She whines, laying her head down on the bar in defeat.

Lala, holds onto one of Akira's arms, steading his balance as she leads him toward one of the far back booths, possibly to keep him hidden from the other potential customers. The vision was oddly blurry and, for some reason, he couldn't keep his footing. So, this was what it was like to be drunk? He suddenly understood why drunk people acted the way they did; stumbling around and slurring their words. Lala, sits him down carefully with a sigh.

"Okay, do you have someone who can come pick you up? I couldn't live with myself if you got caught up in something like this."

"Uh… maybe?" Akira digs into his pocket for his phone, scrolling through his contacts. Sojiro was the first one who came to mind but it was really late at night and he didn't want to know what he would do if he found him drunk in Shinjuku while on probation. He only knew so many people and even few had come to Shinjuku with him. As he scrolls, he stops on a face with bleached blond hair. Ryuji hadn't had the best time the last time they came to Shinjuku. But, he knew where Crossroads was and was probably the least likely to lecture him. Besides, once he saw his face, a warmth burst in his chest - from what he assumes is the alcohol - and instantly wanted to see him, desperately.

He clicks the contact and fumbles with the keyboard as he types out a, hopefully, coherent text message. 

~~~

"Dammit." Ryuji curses, almost throwing the game controller across his bedroom. Insead, he settles for laying his head back on the bed he is leaning against. He just couldn't seem to beat this level. Maybe it was the late hour slowing his reaction time and he should just go to bed. He goes to shut the gaming console off when his phone beeps with a message. He leans over, grabbing it from its place on the bed and unlocks it.

He is pleasantly surprised when he sees Akira's face pop up on the screen, insistently. He clicks it, opening the message to find it stranger than normal.

> hey. im at crossroads. come get me.

Crossroads? He vaguely remembered the Shinjuku bar they went to check out for intel on Kaneshiro. A reporter, if he remembered correctly.

> Get you? Ain't Crossroads in Shinjuku? Somthin' wrong?

> pleaasee? youre my only hope

The message caught him off guard. What exactly was he doing in Shinjuku and at Crossroads of all places? Still, he shuffles around the room, grabbing his hoodie and shoes before typing out a reply.

> On my way.

~~~

Shinjuku always seemed to look brighter at night than during the day. Crowds peaking in the latest hours of the night when no one else dared be out. Ryuji made his way through the crowds of people without much trouble. A few people stopped him to sell him something but he quickly denies and pushes past them.

The large pink sign outside Crossroads with its name in equally bright lights made it easy enough to find. He steps into the alcove and finds his way down the steps and into the main bar. A long, mahogany bar sat to his left and plush, velvet booths were to his right. The back wall was lined with shelves of alcohol in more colors than Ryuji thought possible and the entire bar was bathed in pink club lighting. A stocky woman in a lavish kimono stood behind the bar and waved the boy in with a raised eyebrow.

Ryuji mutters a few apologies, reaching the bar with a few steps. "I'm lookin' for my friend, Akira? He texted me to 'come get 'im'?"

The woman shakes her head with a sigh. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I'm afraid he's gotten a little carried away." Her voice was deeper than he expected.

"What do you mean?" He asks. The woman shuffled around the bar and waved a hand, asking him to follow her. He leads him past a few booths to one further away than the others. Maybe a VIP booth? Getting a better look, a familiar boy sits with his head leaned back against the booth, face flushed and hair a bit haphazard. His gray eyes brighten behind the glasses when he sees him.

"Ryuujiii! You came~!" Akira smiles as brightly as the sign outside.

"Akira? You okay, man?" He asks, the leader's state questionable, at best.

"Did he not tell you? A certain nosey reporter thought giving your friend here a drink would be a good idea." The owner clarifies.

"It was only like… half a glass…" He points out, shifting in his seat in order to get up.

"Half a glass of Ohya's 'Celebration Brandy' that happens to be very strong." She snaps back, assisting him out of the booth.

Akira stands up straight - albeit wobbly - and makes his way to Ryuji's side, like a child being picked up from school. He slings an arm over his shoulder and leans on him for support. 

"Just make sure he gets home safe, okay?" The woman picks up Akira's school bag and hands it to Ryuji. He takes it gingerly, feeling the weight of Morgana in the bag.

"Yeah, I will." He answers, starting to head for the exit with Akira in tow. As he begins stumbling behind a bit, Ryuji instinctively grabs his hand to steady him. Akira seems grateful for the support and continues to hold his hand tightly as the blond leads them out.

~~~

At the door to LeBlanc, Morgan informs Ryuji that the key was in the bag and finds it easily. He fumbles with the lock for a moment before pushing it open. He carefully helps the teen up the stairs and sets Morgana on the table as soon as they reach the attic. Once they reach the bed, he lets Akira flop down onto it with a chuckle.

"What were ya doin' in that bar anyway?" Ryuji asks, finally trying to get some answers out of him.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. Ohya wanted more info on the Phantom Thieves."

"Ohya? Ya mean that reporter?"

Akira nods. "Yep. She's nice. Has a good sense of justice… funny too." The teen would have sounded normal if it wasn't for the slurring. Akira also appeared more relaxed, like he was ready to spill his guts to the world, which sounded dangerous.

Akira was usually so calm and composed but at the moment, he was… giggly?

"Why are you just staring at me? See something you like?" The leader smirks, causing Ryuji's face to go red.

"W-What? You're really drunk…" He trails off, watching the other boy try to sit up properly.

"And you're really hot." He slurs, looking the track star up and down through half-lidded eyes.

At this point, he had to be as red as Akira, possibly darker. "W-Wh- Ya don't know what you're sayin'."

Akira frowns as if deeply offended. "Yeah I do. Try me! I, Akira Kurusu, think Ryuji Sakomato is hotter than hell."

"I am not listening to this." Morgana jumps down from the table and heads down the stairs to the main cafe.

"Wh-What kinda- What are ya sayin'? That's- That's-" He stumbles over his words a bit, unsure of what to say.

"What about me, Ryuji? Do you think I'm hot?" Akira looks back at the other persona user with a deceivingly innocent look. He starts to lean forward on the bed, his face getting closer to Ryuji's with every second. Ryuji tries to lean away, eyes locked with Akira's gray ones.

"Ry-u-ji~?" He teases, only inches from him.

His entire body feels like it is on fire and his stomach turns in knots while his heartbeats a million miles a minute. Deep inside him, he feels a spark of electricity as he thaws on his lip.

"Screw it." He mutters, leaning in only a short ways before their lips are locked in a kiss. Akira immediately wraps his arms around Ryuji's neck, pulling him in to deepen the kiss further. Ryuji places one hand on Akira's cheek and the other on his hip.

The moment is shorter than either of them would have liked. Akira doesn't let go, keeping them close. "Do that again." He says, looking Ryuji in the eyes.

Ryuji chuckles. "Gladly." He presses their lips together again, forgetting Morgana downstairs.

~~~

Ryuji had stayed the night, since all of the trains had finished running for the evening. However, waking up in Akira's bed was a new experience. Particularly when he was sleeping next to him. He held extremely still, not wanting to wake the other teen but his effort were in vain.

Akira stirred a lake and blinked his eyes open. "Ryuji?"

Oh, shit? Did he not remember anything last night? What if he thought he did something weird? What if-

"Thank you for bringing me home. I'm sorry for the trouble."

The response surprised him. So, he did remember? Does he-?

"Ryuji?"

"S-Sorry! No problem. I uh-" Ryuji laughs, nervously. Suddenly, Akira's soft lips press a soft kiss to his cheek before getting out of the bed.

"I'm going to make some coffee. Come down when you're ready." He smirks. "I expect to be paid in kisses, though."

Ryuji's face flushes as he watches the leader descend the stairs, seemingly pleased with himself. He sits up in the bed, shocked.

"Holy shit."

**Author's Note:**

> How'd you like it? Comments and kudos are always welcome!


End file.
